Coneflower 'White Swan'

Questions about coneflower 'White Swan'

Does coneflower 'White Swan' need sun or shade?

Coneflower 'White Swan' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.

What zones does coneflower 'White Swan' grow in?

USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).

Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does coneflower 'White Swan' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers early July to early September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should coneflower 'White Swan' be planted?

16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 2½ ft (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many coneflower 'White Swan' plants do I need?

At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.

In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.

Is coneflower 'White Swan' poisonous to dogs and cats?

No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.

"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.

Do deer eat coneflower 'White Swan'?

Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.

What flowers after coneflower 'White Swan'?

Coneflower 'White Swan' is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

• Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
• Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
• Blue mistflower: from late August to mid October, 2½ ft tall.

What does coneflower 'White Swan' look like in winter?

Coneflower 'White Swan' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.

Is coneflower 'White Swan' good for bees and butterflies?

Coneflower 'White Swan' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.

It is a host plant: the caterpillars of silvery checkerspot and wavy-lined emerald feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.

It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).